Voter ID Laws Take Center Stage at NAACP Convention

As members of the NAACP gather this week at the group's annual convention in Houston, officials announced plans to reinforce their commitment to protecting everyone's right to vote and to tackle the dramatically high rate of unemployment among blacks, according to a report on NPR. The unemployment rate for blacks is 14.4 percent, compared to the overall rate of 8.2 percent.

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney will address the NAACP convention on Wednesday, and Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to speak the following day. NAACP members are ready to hear their plans ...

The theme of the NAACP's convention is "Your Power, Your Decision — Vote." As the national board of directors gathered in a hotel ballroom, the NAACP's Chief of Staff Roger Vann talked about the urgency of getting people registered and into the voting booth.

"Our goal is really to move about a million folks to the polls in November, which is a significant feat for the NAACP and really will be unmatched in the African-American space," he said.

Vann and other NAACP officials say they've spent months fighting voting laws that the organization considers restrictive, and they've been working to protect the right of everyone to vote regardless of their race or economic status.

At least 10 states, including Texas, have passed laws requiring people to show a government-issued photo ID card when they go to the polls. Supporters have said that will prevent voter fraud. Marvin Randolph, who heads the NAACP's get-out-the-vote efforts, calls it a newer version of a poll tax once used to disenfranchise black voters.